China claims conduct of anti-ballistic missile interception test

China has said that it successfully carried out a land-based mid-course anti-ballistic missile (ABM) technical test on Sunday with Chinese experts claiming that the tests, stated to be the sixth of its kind, validated the reliability of the country’s anti-ballistic missile umbrella.

The test is defensive in nature and not targeted against any country, the Chinese Defence Ministry’s official English website said in a brief statement on Sunday. China has carried out the ABM tests in 2010, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2021, the report said. It was not revealed in which interception phase the test in 2014 was carried out, while all other five were carried out in the midcourse phase, the report said.

More tests indicate China’s anti-ballistic missile capability is becoming more reliable and such trials contribute to China’s national defence and security and serve as a deterrent against nuclear blackmails, an unnamed Chinese military expert told the paper.

The flight of an intercontinental ballistic missile usually consists of three phases. First is the boost phase in which the rocket booster powers the missile into the sky followed by the mid-course phase in which the booster stops as the missile travels outside of the atmosphere. The re-entry or terminal phase in which the missile re-enters the atmosphere and zeros on its target.

Intercepting an intercontinental ballistic missile during its mid-course is very challenging because during this phase, the missile, usually equipped with nuclear warheads, travels high outside of the atmosphere at a very high velocity, the daily quoted Chinese experts as saying.

Beijing is increasingly getting restive over the US and Japan ramping up their support for the self-governing island of Taiwan.

More tests indicate that China’s anti-ballistic missile capability is becoming more reliable